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Another Shambala Bracelet Tutorial!

Shamballa Style Bracelets are the one of the latest crazes to hit the beading world and are relatively easy to master as the whole bracelet is based around one technique.

For these you will need some Shamballa beads, 2 stopper beads, approximately 5 metres of Shamballa cord and some sticky tape. Also, this bracelet is a lot easier to make if you have a flat surface like a table (or even just a tray on your knee) to stick your bracelet to as you create it. Please make sure you use something that isn’t coated in a varnish or paint, as this may come off when removing the tape.

Step 1:
Firstly cut a piece of cord approximately 50cm long and tie an overhand knot at one end. Now slide on a stopper bead up to the knot and then tie another knot about 10cm away from the first knot. The stopper bead should now be trapped in between the two knots. Tape the knotted end of the cord about 50cm away from the edge of the table you are using. Alternatively if you are using a tray attach this to the end which is furthest away from you.

Thread on your Shamballa beads and then tape the other end of the cord down to the edge of the table that is closest to you. This will be your base cord and will run through the core of your bracelet.

Leave your Shamballa beads at the end of the cord, nearest to you, as they won’t be needed until later. The amount of beads you use is completely up to you however; on average we recommend approximately 5-7 beads per bracelet.

Step 2:
Take a piece of cord approximately two metres long. Thread this under your base cord so that there is one metre on either side of it and knot this as close to the last knot you tied as you can. You should now have approximately 1metre of cord on either side of the base cord.

Step 3:
Now take the piece of cord on the right hand side and bring this over the top of the base cord, leaving a loop on the right hand side and a tail on the left hand side.

Step 4:
Now take the piece of cord from the left hand side and place this over the top of the tail that you just brought across from the right hand side.

Step 5:
Next bring the cord you have just placed over the top of the tail and thread this under the base cord and up through the loop you created on the right hand side. Now pull this tight.

Step 6:
You have now created the first half of a square knot. Each square knot is split into two halves, for the second half of the knot repeat steps 3 and 4, however reverse these, so instead of starting on the right hand side, start on the left hand side. Now also reverse Step 5, and repeat this.

Step 7:
Repeat this process a few times until you have a row of knots. You can do as many knots as you like for the first section, I like to make this section about half an inch long.

Step 8:
Next slide up one of your Shamballa beads from the bottom of your base cord and secure this in place by using the same square knot technique. When tying this knot, you will find that the cord will naturally fall around the bead you have added.

Step 9:
Now add the rest of your Shamballa beads, adding square knots in between them as you go. I like to tie two square knots in between each bead; however you can space these out whichever way you like best.

Step 10:
Once you have added all of the feature beads create some more square knots at the end,
so that both ends of your bracelet are even in length.

Step 11:
Add a dab of glue or nail varnish to the last knot that you made and trim off the left over tails so only the base cord remains. Add another stopper bead onto the opposite end to the other one and tie another not so each end is equal.

Step 12:
You will now need to create the adjustable knot at the back of your bracelet. Take off both pieces of tape that are holding your base cord in place and bring both ends across each other, creating a bracelet shape. Next take a new piece of cord approximately a 1metre long and thread this under both pieces of cord like in the picture, now tie this in a knot so there is approximately half a meter on either side.

Step 13:
Using the new piece of cord tie a few more square knots over both ends of the base cord. Do this until you have the desired length for your bracelet and glue the last knot. Once this has dried you should be able to pull both of the tails to adjust the size of the bracelet.